“Konfindustria clearly opposes any return to the quarantine status for businesses and citizens as a measure against Covid 19,” has said the General Administrator of Alb Konfindustria, Gjergj Buxhuku.
In a statement released by the press office of Alb Konfindustria on Saturday, Buxhuku noted that in case of a lockdown the consequences would be devastating for the macroeconomic stability, the business and Albanian citizens in the long run. “The economic consequences would be so severe for the survival of Albanian citizens that they could lead to the point of confrontation disrupting social peace and constitutional order.”
In addition, he said that Konfindustria estimates that the Albanian economy suffered a severe blow as a result of the lockdown due to the pandemic in the first 6 months of 2020. The statement reveals the following worrying data. “The economic downturn is projected to be up to 12.5% of GDP for the current financial year. In March-May 2020 alone, losses in the economy are estimated at over $ 2 billion. Broad categories of manufacturing and service businesses were severely affected by the consequences of managing the Covid 19 pandemic. They lost over 70,000 jobs, not counting the informal share of employment. In a large part of the business categories, the part of the employees who stayed at work had a real reduction of salaries up to 50%. The manufacturing industries, which are related to exports such as hydrocarbons, minerals, fasons, tourism, etc., also suffered severe blows. The state budget directly experienced a sharp decline in revenues by almost $400 million in the second quarter of 2020. The unsuccessful year in the tourism industry and the strong decline by almost 60% of emigration revenues have clearly slowed the economic recovery.”
Given the above-mentioned revelations, Konfindustria estimates that reestablishment of the closure of the economy and halt of the movement of citizens would inevitably lead to the unavoidable bankruptcy of many categories of large, medium and small businesses.
In conclusion General Administrator Buxhuku predicted that bankruptcy in particular would be irreversible for most of the domestic industries and this would seriously jeopardize the further threatening capture of domestic markets by competing foreign products and services with incalculable long-term consequences for the economic development and well-being of the Albanian citizens. /argumentum.al
